Perception & Cognition

How do we in the role of the subject perceive an object? What is the

state of our consciousness with respect to the object ? This is referred to
as the epistemology of perception. As a first step, a survey is made of
perception (Pratyaksha) as outlined by Vedanta and Tantra and then it is
discussed how Sri Aurobindo augmented this theory in the light of his
own supramental experiences. By giving new meaning to the four
terms Vijñāna, Prajñāna, Samjñāna and Ajñāna listed in the Aitareya
Upanishad, Sri Aurobindo presented a fresh perspective on the
epistemology of perception.

PERCEPTION in VEDANTA
According to Indian philosophy, it is One Consciousness (Brahma-
Chaitanya) which has “become” (i.e., which underlies) the world in its
various forms such as man, animals, plants and even the supposedly
inanimate objects. Everything has the same consciousness within it
although the outward expression differs in degree and intensity. In the
phenomenal world, consciousness has veiled its full power and plunged
into what may be called (spiritual) Ignorance or nescience. In case of
the supposedly inanimate mineral kingdom, this consciousness is said to
be veiled by a state of inertia (tamas). This veiling is denoted as Māyā
and it is this nescience which is the cause of all empirical distinctions
between the Knower, the Known and Knowledge. There would be no
nescience if we were fully conscious because then the distinction
between subject and object would not exist; everything we perceive
would be seen as part of the One Self. The act of perception must be
understood in the light of this ontological background. Every act of
perception (Pratyaksha) may be regarded as an attempted realization
of the One Self by an unveiling of the nescience which currently exists
between the subject-consciousness and the object-consciousness, the
Knower and the Known.

The phenomenon of perception can be illustrated in the words of tenth

century Indian philosopher, Vachaspati Mishra, who said: “Every one
who deals with an object first intuits it, then reflects upon it, then
appropriates it, and then resolves or determines, this is to be done by
me, and then he proceeds to act.” In accordance with this example, it is
possible to identify three stages of perception:
1) Indeterminate apprehension*: The subject consciousness registers
a change in the sense-input. This stage occurs at the level of the
sense-mind (Manas). The mind must be attentive or attached to
the organ. If the mind is inattentive, no perception occurs even if
the external sense-organ is active. This is observed in the
phenomenon of absent-mindedness where one says, “I didn’t hear
that song even though it was playing.“
2) Determinate apprehension: The mind (Chitta) takes the form of the
object (Chitta-Vritti). The mind is said to be active in perceiving an
object, and not a passive recorder of impressions. It is said to
capture an impression of the external object. Here, one may take
the analogy of a camera which has a photographic film (or pixel
buffer, if we use the analogy of the digital cameras) onto which all
the sense-impressions are united into a single image.
3) Cognition / Apperception**: In this stage, the mind, in its cognitive
aspect (Buddhi) alongwith the ego-sense (Ahankara), utilizes past
memories (Samskāra-s) to resolve and act on the
object. According to Vedanta, one part of the mind becomes the
object (i.e. by imaging the object within our consciousness) and
another part of the mind observes this internal image and
manipulates it using the intellect. The first part is the determinate
apprehension discussed in the preceding paragraph while the
second part is cognition.
*apprehension: In psychology, apprehension (Lat. ad,
"to"; prehendere, "to seize") is a term applied to a model of
consciousness in which nothing is affirmed or denied of the object
in question, but the mind is merely aware of ("seizes") it.
**apperception: In psychology, apperception is "the process by
which new experience is assimilated to and transformed by the
residuum of past experience of an individual to form a new whole".
Apperception is a general term for all mental processes in which a
presentation is brought into connection with an already existent
and systematized mental conception, and thereby is classified,
explained or, in a word, understood; e.g. a new scientific
phenomenon is explained in the light of phenomena already
analysed and classified. The whole intelligent life of man is,
consciously or unconsciously, a process of apperception, in as
much as every act of attention involves the appercipient process.
Example: A rich child and a poor child walking together come
across the same ten dollar bill on the sidewalk. The rich child says
it is not very much money and the poor child says it is a lot of
 money. The difference lies in how they apperceive the same event
– the lens of past experience through which they see and value (or
devalue) the money.

This figure indicates the various stages in perception:

The figure below is a picturesque view of the division that occurs in the
mind during the second (determinate apprehension) and third (cognition)
stages described above.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cartesian_Theater.jpg)
How the intellect is used to determine the cognition based on the
sensory inputs, is described in the figure below:

(Source: https://www.swamij.com/mind-map.htm)

The various ancient Indian schools of philosophy such Nyaya,

Mimansaka, Sankhya, Jaina, Buddhism, Vedanta offered their own
variants on the epistemology of perception.

COGNITION in VEDANTA
The five jñānēndriyāni are enumerated below:
1) shrotraṁ - the ears, the organs of hearing;
2) tvak – the skin, the organ of touch;
3) chakshuḥ - the eyes, the organs of sight or perception;
4) rasanā - the tongue, the organ of taste; and
5) ghrāṇaṁ – the nose, the organ of smell.

But here we need to note that when we are enumerating the eyes, ears
etc. we do not refer to the anatomical parts because the physical part is
there in a dead body also. The dead body also has skin but it cannot feel
the touch, it has eyes but it cannot see etc. So we do not refer to the
anatomical parts, which belong to sthūla sharīraṁ. What is actually
referred to is the subtle power behind each organ; that invisible शि#
(shakti), $वण शि# (shravaṇa shakti) is called shrotra indriyaṁ; दश(न शि#
(darshana shakti) is called chakshu indriyaṁ etc. Indriyaṁ does not
refer to the physical part, but instead to the subtle part. It belongs to
Sūkshma sharīraṁ and not to the Sthūla sharīraṁ.

The anatomical name of these parts in the physical body is called गोलक.
(goḷakaṁ). Goḷakaṁ is the physical part and it belongs to the physical
body, including the dead body, whereas indriyaṁ belongs to the subtle
body. In a dead body gōḷakaṁs are present, but indriyaṁs are not there.
In a blind person also gōḷakaṁ is there but indriyaṁ is missing.

After enumerating the Jñānēndriyāni, their ‘presiding deities’ or /ानेि23य

देवताः are mentioned. Every sense organ has a faculty like seeing faculty,
hearing faculty etc. Each faculty is a limited faculty. Eyes can see alright,
but it has got a limitation. Dogs can see more than us. An owl can see
more than us. Dogs can hear sounds, which we cannot. So every faculty
that we enjoy is a finite limited faculty. And the shāstrā-s say that
corresponding to every finite faculty, there must be a corresponding total
power. So individual finite power or faculty is always a part of the
corresponding total cosmic power. And this power, which exists in the
Cosmos is called a Dēvatā. So Dēvatā is any power at the macro level.
And from that macro level power, each of us gets a small portion at the
micro level.

Each sense organ has got a finite capacity only. Ears can hear only
within a range. But the range is not the same for all human beings as
certain persons can hear some sounds, which others can’t. Thus the
organs have a finite power but the corresponding Dēvatās have got
infinite potential.

It is like a Chief Executive who has got power to govern the entire
Company. But he picks up several General Managers for looking after
each function like Finance, Sales, Marketing, Production, Human
Relations etc. And he delegates part of his total power to each of these
General Managers, depending upon their respective functions. Thus
General Manager Finance will have power only with respect to the
Finance function. He will not have any power relating to say the
Marketing function and so on. Similarly there are so many powers in the
Creation. Each power has a corresponding total power. It is called a
Dēvatā and all the Dēvatās put together is called Īshvaraḥ – God who,
like the Chief Executive, is a conglomeration of all the total seeing
power, total smelling power, total hearing power, total thinking power,
total touching power, total emotional power and so on.

Each sense-organ or indriyam is capable of grasping one particular

aspect of Creation (called vishayam). There cannot be an admixture of
duties of the indriyas; for example, eyes can see, but cannot smell, nose
can smell, but cannot see, ears can hear sounds, but cannot feel touch
& so on. Every organ can function only within its given field (5े6). One
organ does not have access into another field.

So Īshvaraḥ is all-powerful – has the sum total of all powers pertaining

to all senses. Each Dēvatā, with the blessings of Īshvaraḥ, has the total
power for one sensory perception. And we, as individuals, have only a
miniscule portion of each of those powers relating to each indriyam.

The Jñānēndriyāni, the Dēvatā for each indriya, and the Vishaya
corresponding to each indriya, are detailed in the Table below:

Jñānēndriyāni Ears Skin Eyes Tongue Nose

Seeing/
Hearing/ Feeling/ Tasting/ Smelling/
Function/ Form &
Sound Touch Taste Smell
Vishaya Colour
(śabda) (sparśa) (rasa) (gandha)
(rūpa)
Corresponding
Space Air Fire Water Earth
Element

Dig Ashvini
Dēvatā Vāyu Sūrya Varuna
Dēvatā Kumāras

The scriptures do not enumerate objects of the world, but instead, they
divide the world into 5 segments based on properties of objects. Our
sense organs never perceive the substance; they perceive only the
properties called shabda, sparsha, rūpa, rasa and gandha. When we say
you are sitting, we are only seeing your colour. If we say you are
speaking, we are only hearing your sound. If you apply lot of perfumes,
we only smell the perfumes. Thus we don’t know what your substance
is. The 5 sense organs (Jñānēndriyāni namely ears, skin, eyes, tongue
and nose) perceive the 5 properties (shabda, sparsha, rūpa, rasa &
gandha) corresponding to the 5 elements (Space, Air, Fire, Water &
Earth). Hence, it is all the play of Prakriti alone.

Vedanta describes the process of knowing or cognition with the help of

Jñānēndriyāni. The five senses of perception (indriyah or indriyäni) are
hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, and the sense of touch all over the
body. Then, we have the faculty of thinking behind these five senses.
This faculty is in the form of thought modifications. It is what we call vrtti.
Vrtti means a thought, thoughts or thought-forms. We further define vrtti
by three main types, although there are so many of them. One type is
manas, another is buddhi, and the third type is chitta.

Thus, we are defining the vrtti’s as a three-fold manifestation. Manas is

generally referred to as the mind. Emotions, desires, doubt, and
vacillations are all manas. Then we have another type of thinking where
there is deliberate enquiry. When there is resolution, decision and will,
we call it buddhi. The process of reasoning and inference, etc. all comes
under that. Then recollection and memory, we call chitta. So these three
– manas, buddhi, and chitta we call antahkarana or, in general, mind.
The one who owns the mind is the ego (aham). This is the individual —
the ‘I’ thought or the one who employs the mind. Therefore, the ego
(ahamkära) is the sense of “I-ness”. Any ownership, knowership,
enjoyership, doership—all “-ships” belong to (aham).

Perception is sensory awareness. Cognition is reflective awareness.

Consciousness is awareness-as-such. In Indian psychology, as
represented by Sankhya-Yoga and Advaita Vedanta systems,
consciousness and mind are fundamentally different. Reality is the
composite of Being (Sat), Knowing (Chit) and Feeling (Ānanda).
Consciousness is the Knowledge side of the universe. It is the ground
condition of all awareness. Consciousness is not a part or aspect of the
mind. Mind is physical and Consciousness is not. Consciousness does
not interact with the mind, the brain or any other physical objects or
processes. Nor does it have any causative role in mental activity. Hence
the existence of Consciousness does not interfere with or upset the
apparently closed physical system. Mind in this view is the interfacing
instrumentality that faces Consciousness on one side and the brain and
the rest of the physical world on the other. Mind is closely connected
with the different systems of the brain. In normal perceptions, the mind
takes the forms of objects via the channels of the sensory system and
the processes in the brain. The forms themselves are non-conscious
representations of the world of objects. The mental forms (vrittis)
become conscious experiences in the light of the antahkarana. The vritti
in sensory form is perception and with the reflection of the antahkarana it
becomes cognition. All conscious perceptions are therefore cognitions.

Swami Vivekananda explains:

“According to Sankhya, it is impossible for anything to be, which
has not as its material, some portion of my mind. I do not know this
table as it is. An impression from it comes to the eyes, then to, the
Indriya, and then to the mind; and the mind reacts, and that
reaction is what I call the table. It is just the same as throwing a
stone in a lake; the lake throws a wave towards the stone; this
wave is what we know. What is external nobody knows; when I try
to know it, it has to become that material which I furnish. I, with my
own mind, have furnished the material for my eyes. There is
something which is outside, which is only, the occasion, the
suggestion, and upon that suggestion I project my mind; and it
takes the form that I see. How do we all see the same things?
Because we all have; similar parts of the cosmic mind. Those who
have like minds will see like things, and those who have not will
not see alike.”

मनस् or Manas (Mind) is defined as the संशय (saṁshaya) or doubting

faculty. It is also the emotional faculty. So mind stands for both faculties
i.e. doubt as well as emotion. In Sanskrit it is expressed as
संक;पिवकल्पा=मकः मन: (sankalpa vikalpātmakaṁ manaḥ) – oscillating
faculty.
बुिA (Intellect) is the rational faculty. In Sanskrit it is expressed as
िनBचया=मक. (nishchayātmakaṁ) that which puts an end to the vacillation;
so this is the decisive or rational or intellectual faculty.
िचDं (chittaṁ) is the memory faculty.
अहGार: (ahaṅkāraḥ) refers to the Ego - the ‘I’ notion because of which we
identify with the sthūla sharīraṁ and the sūkshma sharīraṁ.
The process of cognition (knowing) through jñānēndriyāni is shown in
the diagram below:

Swami Vivekananda described ‘knowing’ or ‘perception’ as follows:

According to the Vedanta philosophy, man consists of three
substances, so to say. The outermost is the body, the gross form
of man, in which are the instruments of sensation, such as the
eyes, nose, ears, and so forth. This eye is not the organ of vision;
it is only the instrument. Behind that, is the organ. So, the ears are
not the organs of hearing; they are the instruments, and behind
them is the organ, or what, in modern physiology, is called the
centre. The organs are called Indriyas in Sanskrit. If the centre,
which governs the eyes, be destroyed, the eyes will not see; so
with all our senses. The organs, again, cannot sense anything by
themselves, until there be something else attached to them. That
something is the mind. Many times you have observed that you
were deeply engaged in a certain thought, and the clock struck
and you did not hear it. Why? The ear was there; vibrations
entered it and were carried into the brain, yet you did not hear,
 because the mind was not joined to the organ. The impressions of
external objects are carried to the organs, and when the mind is
attached to them, it takes the impressions and gives them, as it
were, a colouring, which is called egoism, "I". Take the case of a
mosquito biting me on the finger when I am engaged in some
work. I do not feel it, because my mind is joined to something else.
Later, when my mind is joined to the impression conveyed to the
Indriyas, a reaction comes. With this reaction I become conscious
of the mosquito. So even the mind joining itself to the organs is not
sufficient; there must come the reaction in the form of will. This
faculty from which the reaction comes, the faculty of knowledge or
intellect, is called "Buddhi" First, there must be the external
instrument, next the organ, next the mind must join itself to
the organ, then must come the reaction of intellect, and when
all these things are complete, there immediately flashes the
idea, "I and the external object", and there is a perception, a
concept, knowledge.

PERCEPTION in TANTRA
Arthur Avalon in his book Serpent Power presents the perspective of
Tantra on perception. At each moment, the Jiva is subject to
innumerable influences which from all quarters of the Universe pour
upon him. Only those reach his Consciousness which attract his
attention and are thus selected by his Manas. The latter attends to one
or other of these sense-impressions and conveys it to the Buddhi. When
an object (Artha) is presented to the mind, and perceived, the latter is
formed into the shape of the object perceived. This is called a mental
Vritti (modification) which it is the object of Yoga to suppress. The mind
as a Vritti is thus a representation of the outer subject. But, in so far as it
is such representation, the mind is as much an object as the outer one.
The latter, that is, the physical object, is called the gross object (Sthula
artha), and the former or mental impression is called the subtle object
(Sukshma artha). But, besides the object, there is the mind which
perceives it. It follows that the mind has two aspects, in one of which it is
the perceiver, and in the other the perceived in the form of the mental
formation (Vritti), which in creation precedes its outer projection, and
after the creation follows as the impression produced in the mind by the
sensing of a gross physical object. The mental impression and the
physical object exactly correspond, for the physical object is in fact but a
projection of the cosmic imagination, though it has the same reality as
the mind has; no more and no less. The mind is thus both cognizer
(Grahaka) and cognized Grahya), revealer (Prakashaka) and revealed
(Prakashya), denoter (Vacaka) and denoted (Vacya). When the mind
perceives an object, it is transformed into the shape of that object. So
the mind which thinks of the Divinity which it worships (Ishtadevata) is, at
length, through continued devotion, transformed into the likeness of that
Devata. By allowing the Devata thus to occupy the mind for long, it
becomes as pure as the Devata. This is a fundamental principle of
Tantrik Sadhana or religious practice. The object perceived is called
Artha, a term which comes from the root "Ri," which means to get, to
know, to enjoy. Artha is that which is known and which, therefore, is an
object of enjoyment. The mind as Artha, that is in the form of the mental
impression, is an exact reflection of the outer object or gross Artha. As
the outer object is Artha, so is the interior subtle mental form which
corresponds to it. That aspect of the mind which cognizes is called
Shabda or Nama (name), and that aspect in which it is its own object or
cognized is called Artha or Rupa (form). The outer physical object, of
which the latter is in the individual an impression, is also Artha or Rupa,
and spoken speech is the outer Shabda. The mind is thus, from the
Mantra aspect, Shabda and Artha, terms corresponding to the Vedantic
Nama and Rupa or concepts and concepts objectified. The Mayavada
Vedanta says that the whole creation is Nama and Rupa. Mind as
Shabda is the Power (Shakti) the function of which is to distinguish and
identify (Bhedasamsargavritti-Shakti).

SRI AUROBINDO on PERCEPTION

Sri Aurobindo augmented the Vedantic theory of perception based on
his spiritual experience of the Supramental World (Maharloka or
Vijnanaloka). In this world, ideas are not abstractions but always
concrete realities inseparable from the objects they define. A good
example of this would be simultaneously experiencing the power of the
burning light and the substance of the fire within it (Sri Aurobindo,
The Life Divine – I: The Supermind as Creator). He coined the
term Real-Idea to define this experience:
On the plane of mind you have abstractions. It is the mind’s way of
representing realities of planes higher than the mind. Behind these
abstractions there is a Reality. On the plane above the mind there
are no abstractions, there are realities and powers. For instance,
you form an abstract idea in the mind about the Supermind. When
you get to the Supermind you find it is not an abstraction at all. It is
more intensely concrete than Matter, something quite
overwhelming in its concrete-ness. That is why I called it the Real-
 Idea and not an “abstract idea”. In that sense there is nothing more
concrete than God. Even if we were on the pure mental plane we
would find mind much more concrete and real. But as we are on
the physical plane we always think the mind more abstract. Before
the Supermind, Matter dwindles into a shadow.

The supramental consciousness can be said to have two powers –

apprehension and comprehension.
1) Apprehension (Pratyaya) is the basis of objective cognition. This
is equivalent to the mode of apprehension defined in the Vedantic
theory of perception. It is the gaining of relational knowledge of
the object from the standpoint of the subject. It is when the subject
places an image of the object in front of it (within, not without) in
order to build a relation with it.
2) Comprehension is gaining knowledge about the object from within
– as if the object were part of one’s own self. In this mode,
knowledge is obtained because the consciousness perceives the
other as part of one’s own self. Such knowledge is more complete
than the traditional form of relational knowledge gained through the
subject-object differentiation.

Sri Aurobindo discovered that all the perceptive powers of the human
mind are actually derived from, but inferior to, the Supramental powers
of Comprehension and Apprehension. In the unenlightened man, the
powers of apprehension are dominant while the powers of
comprehension are imperfect and undeveloped. This is in contrast to the
Supramental plane, where the powers of comprehension operate
perfectly while the powers of apprehension are rendered subordinate or
redundant. Sri Aurobindo augmented the Vedantic theory of perception
by redefining the four terms Vijñāna, Prajñāna, Samjñāna and Ajñāna
mentioned in the Aitareya Upanishad.
यदेतAृदयं मनBचैतत् । सं/ानमा/ानं िव/ानं M/ानं मेधा OिPधृ(ितम(ितम(नीषा जूितः
Uमृितः संक;पः कतुरसुः कामो वश इित सवा(Wयेवैतािन M/ानUय नामधेयािन भवY2त
॥२॥
This which is the heart, is mind also. Concept and will and analysis
and wisdom and intellect and vision and continuity of purpose and
feeling and understanding, pain and memory and volition and
application of thought and vitality and desire and passion, all
these, yea all, are but names of the Eternal Wisdom.
 (Sri Aurobindo, The Upanishads: Aitereya Upanishad ~
https://incarnateword.in/sabcl/12/aitereya-upanishad#p62)

With reference to the verse above, Prajñāna and Samjñāna are powers
of apprehension, while Vijñāna and Ajñāna are powers of
comprehension:
• Vijñāna: The object is held as part of one’s own consciousness in
order to gain complete knowledge of the truth and idea within it.
• Ajñāna: (note: Ajñāna here does not mean ignorance but
knowledge-will as in the word Agnya and Ajna Chakra) The object
is possessed in the energy of consciousness.
• Prajñāna: The object is analyzed as separate from the subject in
the outgoing movement of the apprehensive consciousness.
• Samjñāna: The object is analyzed in the in-bringing movement of
the apprehensive consciousness. This is awareness of the object
by sense-contact.

We will now analyze the varied actions of these powers of

consciousness in the three stages of spiritual growth of Man:
1) Unilluminated Mind: Samjñāna and Prajñāna dominate while
Vijñāna is poor and Ajñāna is absent.
2) Intuitive Mind: Partial Vijñāna along with Prajñāna and
and Samjñāna.
3) Supramental Mind: Vijñāna and Ajñāna dominate.

Perception in the Unilluminated Mind

The unilluminated mind proceeds from ignorance to knowledge. It’s
primary power is apprehension (in the form of Samjñāna and Prajñāna)
and then it tries to imperfectly gain comprehension (as Vijñāna and
Ajñāna). Sri Aurobindo defined the act of perception as follows:
As our human psychology is constituted, we begin with Samjñāna,
the sense of an object in its image; the apprehension of it in
knowledge (Prajñāna) follows. Afterwards we try to arrive at the
comprehension of it in knowledge (Vijñāna) and the possession of
it in power (Ajñāna). There are secret operations in us, in our
subconscient and superconscient selves, which precede this
action, but of these we are not aware in our surface being and
therefore for us they do not exist. If we knew of them, our whole
conscious functioning would be changed.
 As it is what happens is a rapid process by which we sense an
image and have of it an apprehensive percept and concept, and a
slower process of the intellect by which we try to comprehend and
possess it. The former process is the natural action of the mind
which has entirely developed in us; the latter is an acquired action,
an action of the intellect and the intelligent will which represent in
Mind an attempt of the mental being to do what can only be done
with perfect spontaneity and mastery by something higher than
Mind. The intellect and intelligent will form a bridge by which the
mental being is trying to establish a conscious connection with the
supramental and to prepare the embodied soul for the descent into
it of a supramental action. Therefore the first process is easy,
spontaneous, rapid, perfect; the second slow, laboured, imperfect.
In proportion as the intellectual action becomes associated with
and dominated by a rudimentary supramental action, — and it is
this which constitutes the phenomenon of genius, — the second
process also becomes more and more easy, spontaneous, rapid
and perfect.
(Sri Aurobindo, Kena and Other Upanishads: The Supreme Sense ~
https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/18/the-supreme-sense#p9)

Comparing these terms to the Vedantic theory, the correspondence can

be identified as
1) Samjñāna = Indeterminate apprehension. This is the action of
Sense-mind (Manas)
2) Prajñāna = Determinate apprehension. This is the imaging of the
object within the mind (Chitta-Vritti).
3) Vijñāna functions in a much-diminished form as the cognitive mode
of the intellect.
4) Ajñāna is next to absent in the operation of the unenlightened
man.

Perception in the Intuitive Mind

When the consciousness rises to the Intuitive Mind, one develops
the four powers of Intuition – Revelation or Drishti, Inspiration or Shruti,
Intuition or Smriti and Discrimination or Viveka (Sri Aurobindo,
The Synthesis of Yoga – II: The Gradations of the Supermind). The
functioning of Vijñāna is now half-awakened. As Sri Aurobindo states in
one of his unfinished commentaries on the Upanishads, Smriti
(Intuition) is the link between Vijñāna (Knowledge by Identity) and
Prajñāna (apprehension) because Smriti is innate perception; it is the
latent memory of the truth which rises when within our consciousness,
we have momentarily unified with the object-consciousness:
A still more indirect action of the vijñāna is smriti; when the truth is
presented to the soul and its truth immediately & directly
recognised by a movement resembling memory — a perception
that this was always true and already known to the higher
consciousness. It is smriti that is nearest to intellect action and
forms the link between vijñānam & prajñānam, ideal thought &
intellectual thought, by leading to the higher forms of intellectual
activity, such as intuitive reason, inspiration, insight & prophetic
revelation, the equipment of the man of genius.

(Sri Aurobindo, Kena and Other Upanishads:

A Fragmentary Chapter for a Work on Vedanta ~ https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/18/a-
fragmentary-chapter-for-a-work-on-vedanta#p8)

Perception in the Supramental Mind

In the fully supramentalized being, the primary power is comprehension
while the powers of apprehension become a secondary capability. As Sri
Aurobindo defines it:
The basis of its action of the world will be the perfect, original and
all-possessing Vijñāna and Ajñāna. It will comprehend all things in
its energy of conscious knowledge, control all things in its energy
of conscious power. These energies will be the spontaneous
inherent action of its conscious being creative and possessive of
the forms of the universe. What part then will be left for the
apprehensive consciousness and the sense? They will be not
independent functions, but subordinate operations
(Prajñāna and Samjñāna) involved in the action of the
comprehensive consciousness itself. In fact, all four there will be
one rapid movement. If we had all these four, acting in us with the
unified rapidity with which the Prajñāna and Samjñāna act, we
should then have in our notation of Time some inadequate image
of the unity of the supreme action of the supreme energy.

If we consider, we shall see that this must be so. The supreme

consciousness must not only comprehend and possess in its
conscious being the images of things which it creates as its self-
expression, but it must place them before it — always in its own
being, not externally — and have a certain relation with them by
the two terms of apprehensive consciousness. Otherwise the
 universe would not take the form that it has for us; for we only
reflect in the terms of our organisation the movements of the
supreme Energy. But by the very fact that the images of things are
there held in front of an apprehending consciousness within the
comprehending conscious being and not externalised as our
individual mind externalises them, the supreme Mind and supreme
Sense will be something quite different from our mentality and our
forms of sensation. They will be terms of an entire knowledge and
self-possession and not terms of an ignorance and limitation which
strives to know and possess.

(Sri Aurobindo, Kena and Other Upanishads: The Supreme Sense ~

https://incarnateword.in/cwsa/18/the-supreme-sense#p10-p11)

References:
1. Jadunath Sinha. Indian psychology : perception (London: Kegan Paul Trench
Trubner & Co. Ltd 1934) pp 1-75
2. Arthur Avalon. Serpent Power (Mineola: Dover Publications, 1974) p 88
3. A.B. Purani. Evening Talks with Sri Aurobindo (Puducherry: Sri Aurobindo
Ashram 1982) p 291.
 Bibliography
1) Epistemology of perception by Sandeep Joshi
(https://auromere.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/epistemology-
of-perception/)
2) Tattvabodha (Notes)